Accountability Lab

Accountability LabGrant

An incubator for tools to fight corruption and make governments more responsible

The Accountability Lab is a “for purpose”, non-profit organization that serves as an incubator for the world’s most creative accountability ideas. The team works with innovative people and organizations to develop tools- and the communities around them- that can make power-holders more responsible. The Lab provides mentorship, networking, training and management support for a number of imaginative projects in difficult developing contexts – to allow citizens to unlock the rich potential for political and economic development. By emphasizing youth, technology, and sustainability, the Lab strives to pioneer a new approach to international development that addresses the causes rather than the symptoms of poverty, inequality, and instability.

Summary

The Accountability Lab is changing the paradigm for engagement in the developing world. It is: citizen focused- supporting people that know the solutions to their own challenges; a learning organization- embracing failure as a learning process; radically transparent- with all expenses made public in real time; cost-effective, through ensuring that every dollar is spent as wisely as possible; and completely independent- through not seeking or taking any money from governments or corporations.

Daily Talk: A citizen journalist’s low-tech initiative to make information on civic rights and responsibilities accessible to thousands of Liberians every day.

Social Impact

Since mid-2012, the Accountability Lab has supported nearly two dozen “accountapreneurs” to develop anti-corruption tools that have helped over 100,000 citizens in Africa and Asia. The team has also trained over 400 citizens on issues of integrity, transparency and accountability.

Accountability Film School: Accountapreneur Divine Anderson teaches young Liberians how to make low-budget documentaries about accountability issues in their communities.

Projects have included Nalibeli- a popular crowd-sourced portal for public information in Nepal, allowing citizens to access critical knowledge on issues that matter to them- like how to get a birth certificate or receive a pension; and a citizen journalism initiative in Liberia through which chalk billboards are being used to provide critical information to thousands of citizens every day, which they can use to hold their government accountable.